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What can we learn from Cheslie Kryst?

Conditions

February 1, 2022

“Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable.”
– Fred Rogers

Cheslie Kryst, a former Miss USA, lawyer, and entertainment correspondent, died by suicide. She was smart, beautiful, accomplished, and young.

A police officer was quoted saying, “Not only beautiful but she was smart — she was a lawyer … she has a life that anyone would be jealous of. It’s so sad.”

The message about suicide continues …

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What can we learn from Cheslie Kryst?

Changing the game plan: COVID’s second half

Richard Watson, MD

Conditions

February 1, 2022

Recently, I was on several calls concerning the precipitous rise of COVID-19 cases and the burden to the health care system. There’s no doubt that we are at a point where challenges become crisis, and crisis becomes collapse. The constant influx of “breaking news” into our psyche has blunted any ability to decipher the nuances of this escalation.

But as this is not our first go-round, most stakeholders have already exhausted …

Prioritizing physician wellness: Reducing burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 31, 2022

“Ultimately, patients need doctors to help them be healthy, and need their doctors to be healthy to help them! Unless interventions are done now, our health care system risks a downward spiral. While the pandemic has brought increased levels of stress and burnout, it has prompted us to take action …

Why the health care industry must prioritize health equity

George T. Mathew, MD, MBA

Policy

January 31, 2022

There are few silver linings related to the COVID-19 pandemic, but one that stands out is the growing recognition that health equity must be an essential guiding principle for health care organizations going forward.

The broader health care system suffered greatly due to the coronavirus outbreak that has infected tens of millions and killed hundreds of thousands nationwide, but vulnerable patient populations and marginalized communities were far more susceptible to long-term …

The dream of every young surgeon

John Lawrence, MD

Physician

January 31, 2022

An excerpt from PLAYING DOCTOR – Part One: Medical School: Stumbling through with amnesia.

As was her habit, she [the surgical chief resident] had called to check in with a surgical nurse to see how each of her patients was doing. They were discussing each patient when the nurse stopped to mention that there was a code team outside a room …

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The dream of every young surgeon

Orthopedic eponyms: Where are the women?

Adil Shahzad Ahmed, MD

Physician

January 31, 2022

Bunnell. Colles. Dupuytren. Erb. These and countless other names litter the lexicon of orthopedic surgery. Eponyms abound from the moment one enters residency, providing prime “pimp” fodder for senior surgeons to accost trainees.

Besides striking fear into the hearts of residents in morning conferences, eponyms do serve another purpose. They preserve our history.

Contributions of giants in the field are immortalized, perpetuated every time one glimpses a characteristic X-ray or particular pathognomonic …

What shared journeys to the afterlife teach about dying well and living better

William Peters

Conditions

January 31, 2022

An excerpt from At Heaven’s Door: What Shared Journeys to the Afterlife Teach About Dying Well and Living Better.

What brings you here?

I ask this question of every person who steps through the door because they have come to talk about death—the most universal of all human experiences yet the most difficult to discuss.

In modern culture, we have an uneasy relationship …

How physicians can play the hand they’re dealt [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 30, 2022

“Anyone can win at poker when dealt a royal flush. But what can you do when the cards you are dealt don’t appear winning at all? My answer: Make the best of what you have.

Recently I learned of a colleague who sustained a broken back in an accident. He …

Recovering from burnout: a permission to pivot

Jillian Rigert, MD, DMD

Physician

January 30, 2022

From 2013 to 2017, I was in the Air Force, selected to become an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, and would soon embark on my residency journey to get there.

Up until this point, my educational path was linear. I completed undergrad and committed to dental school during my first year as I was accepted into a fast track 3:4 program which meant that I would complete three years of undergrad followed …

“I’d rather drive a Cadillac!”: The privilege problem in hospitals

Meera Menon, MD

Physician

January 30, 2022

As a surgical intern, my days started early, and I was tired as I entered Mr. M’s room that evening armed with a nasal feeding tube and lubricant.

Mr. M was an African-American gentleman in his early 50s. He looked worn and much older than his years. Mr. M had end-stage liver disease and was on the liver transplant list. With a distended abdomen full of fluid, improving his nutrition and …

A physician’s running list of microaffirmations

Elizabeth Rubin Ribak, MD

Physician

January 30, 2022

Microaffirmations are the antidote to microaggressions. Microaggressions are the little insidious comments or acts of barely perceptible injustice and bias that bite and nip and slowly erode our confidence in our belonging, worth, and power. As I continued the medical training journey, I continually searched for the antidote. Mere protection against the daily barbs and arrows was not enough. I needed more than protection- I needed an offensive strategy as …

The gift of honoring life

Sarah Snell, MD

Physician

January 30, 2022

The doorbell at my father’s house rang, and the dogs went crazy. A physician was at the front door who had requested to come to pay his respects and to check on my father, as he had lost his wife (my mother) of more than six decades just days before.

He sat with us at the kitchen table, and we spoke briefly of other things: dogs he never thought he’d own …

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The gift of honoring life

Prioritizing physician wellness: Reducing burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond

Lalitha Sundararaman, MD

Physician

January 30, 2022

A guest column by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, exclusive to KevinMD.com.

The World Health Organization defines burnout in its International Classification of Diseases as chronic workplace stress that has not been adequately managed, resulting in depletion, mental distancing from one’s job, and reduced efficacy. Physician burnout rates were already …

Pay heed to the little life traumas that hit us daily [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 29, 2022

“Taking stock of all these experiences, I feel like I have no answers. They lead me to a space of unrest and dissatisfaction for not having a pill that would instantly drop 10 kilos, cure hep E, curb food craving or resolve a heartache.

But I feel grateful for bypassing most …

The form of functional female bodies

Drea Burbank, MD

Physician

January 29, 2022

The U.S. Congress is considering regulating one of the most lucrative and powerful companies in the U.S. because teenage girls are attempting suicide over algorithmic images of female bodies.

As an MD-technologist, this is my jam. For over ten years, I’ve been obsessed with how technology makes us sick and how it can be used to make us healthy. So what can we learn from …

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The form of functional female bodies

Why do we obsess and repeat?

Radhule Weininger, MD, PhD

Conditions

January 29, 2022

An excerpt from Heart Medicine: How to Stop Painful Patterns and Find Peace and Freedom–at Last. Reprinted in arrangement with Shambhala Publications, Inc. Boulder, CO.

For many months, Leila could not stop ruminating about the fateful event of spilling coffee on her ex–mother-in-law’s tunic. Images from the traumatic event on her son’s wedding day returned repeatedly, intermingling with related …

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Why do we obsess and repeat?

When records are wrong, patients are at risk [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 28, 2022

“Inaccurate patient records aren’t just an inconvenience. They’re a risk. The EHR might speak for the patient when they cannot speak for themselves, and if it’s wrong, it’s a serious liability.

In lieu of any system-wide improvements to EHRs, I try to be vigilant. I ask the medical assistants to review the medication list …

Here’s what it takes to do good science under pressure

Fiona Greenland, PhD and Michelle D. Fabiani, PhD

Conditions

January 28, 2022

How can you know that science done quickly during a crisis is good science?

This question has taken on new relevance with the COVID-19 vaccine rollout. Researchers developed vaccines in under a year — easily breaking the previous record of four years. But that pace of development may be part of the reason about 1 in 7 unvaccinated adults in the U.S. say Read more…

Here’s what it takes to do good science under pressure

Is EMTALA really protecting patients during COVID?

Trent Dietsche

Policy

January 28, 2022

I am a physician at a critical access hospital. I manage both the ER and inpatient service and am the only physician in the hospital. This is the reality for many rural hospitals across the country. With no urgent care in town, and with primary care offices few and far between, these hospitals see everything.

We see patients with ailments from a minor finger laceration to those with septic shock from …